1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to apparatus for maintaining and using houseplants grown in containers, specifically to increasing the utility of standard clay pot containers and to maintaining and regulating the moisture level of the potting mix within a clay pot planting as well as methods of conducting nutrient cations into the growing medium of a containerized plant from nutrient rocks and powders of low aqueous solubility.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Clay pots have been a perennial favorite container for potted plants around the home. The porous nature of these containers allows aeration for healthy root development of growing plants. In use for centuries, some drawbacks of clay pots, such as minimal drainage, have been overcome by age-old practices of layering broken clay pieces in the pot""s bottom, followed by long fiber sphagnum moss filters beneath the soil layer. Moisture maintenance is a problem however, which has not been satisfactory solved. Mature plants in appropriately sized clay pots dry quickly, due to the porosity, and must be watered more often than is required for plastic containers. Conventional practices for growing plants in clay pots include repotting the plants in successively larger clay pots at various growth stages in an effort to avoid excessive wet soil. Since this moisture cannot be used by an underdeveloped root system, the excessive moisture can cause root rot.
Moisture applications with wick devices, which use capillary action to moisten the soil, have been around for at least 125 years, yet the use with clay pots is not widespread. Many traditional wicks exhibit such problems as leaving soil in the bottom of the pot very wet, while the soil in the upper regions is very dry. The soak spots in the lower portions at times are so severe as to promote microbial growth and xe2x80x9croot rot.xe2x80x9d With the upper portions of the soil being left so dry, roots can not be supported except through minimal depths of the soil.
Traditional wicks have been too thick for use with clay pots, and the interactive nature of wicking in response to the moisture level of the soil maybe lost if the wick is not in direct contact with dry soil. Further, the moisture addition rate is sometimes based on seepage through perforations in a cover of the wick, which may be difficult to control. Additionally, some traditional wicking materials are too large or complex to be easily incorporated into household use.
Introduction of moisture in the upper layers of soil, as happens in nature, is still the most common water addition technique to plants potted in clay. It allows for moisture distribution throughout the soil by allying two of the three forces, which move moisture in the soil: gravitational force and the capillary action of the soil itself. The third force is the energy used by the plant roots to draw in water. Nature""s method of saturating the soil during a rain and letting the soil dry between rains is the mode of maintenance of most of the world""s plants. Thus, we can assume that healthy plants readily tolerate, and in fact thrive, with at least some variance of moisture level within the soil. Water reservoirs associated with wicking elements have been large or cumbersome and have discouraged homeowners from using a reservoir wicking system.
Soil or plant growing medium is composed of colloids which carry a net negative charge. This is an important property because it allows the soil to hold positively charged nutrient ions or cations while negatively charged nutrients are left to leach through the soil. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, and ammonium are examples of important nutrients in cationic forms which influence the pH of the soil in a basic direction, while aluminum and hydrogen cations make the soil more acidic.
All plants need 16 to 19 elements for healthy growth, some in trace quantities, many of them are cations. Cations are also the form these nutrients enter the plant roots. Generally these cationic nutrients are added to the soil in one of two ways: as water soluble salts or as slow release materials, that is, materials that dissolve slowly in water. This latter group includes relatively aqueous insoluble rock powders and greensand. Addition of water soluble salts to containerized plantings has always been problematic because it is difficult to get a good nutrient mix at a level which both satisfies the plant""s needs and does not burn the plant. Burn is caused by the salt ionized in the soil""s moisture actually drawing water from the plant roots in an effort to equalize the ion levels.
Rock powders and greensand occur in nature with often excellent nutrient mixes. They are normally added directly to the soil. These relatively aqueous insoluble materials slowly dissolve and release their nutrients at rates which will not burn the plant. Often, however, it takes several years for the plant to show the benefits of the nutrients.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing interactive delivery of liquid nutrients to the growing medium of a houseplant with the facility to set the capacity of the liquid nutrient delivery rate, comprising the steps of providing at least one wick element comprised of wicking material and casing around a central portion which holds said wicking material movably in place, wherein said casing is substantially impervious to moisture, with said wicking material exposed at either end of said casing; providing a reservoir of liquid nutrients with said reservoir having both a liquid surface level and an average liquid surface level over a fill and distribution cycle; providing a holder which secures said wick elements in position with respect to said liquid surface level with members which hold said outer casing, and allows movement of said wick elements to new secure positions with respect to the liquid surface level; positioning said wick elements in said holder; placing the wick elements, within the holder, along with a plant in growing medium inside a planting container, such that a portion of the wick elements, including both said casing and said wicking material protrude from the bottom of said planting container; and positioning said planting container with said protruding casing and wicking material above said reservoir of liquid nutrients such that the wick elements are immersed into the liquid to a position such that the bottom of said wick element casing is either above or below said liquid surface level; whereby the average liquid nutrient delivery rate capacity is set by the position of the wick elements within the holder, with respect to a given reservoir and average liquid surface level over a fill and delivery cycle, to the optimal range of liquid nutrient delivery rates for a specific plant, at its current growth stage, in its current environment, within the maintenance schedule of its current caregiver.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a regulating wick device, usable with a liquid nutrient reservoir having a liquid surface level, said regulating wick device both for conducting nutrients, selected from a group consisting of water, plant fertilizers, antimicrobial agents, plant hormones, and mixtures thereof, and for setting and adjusting wicking rate to an elevated growing medium of a plant comprising at least one wick element comprised of a length of wicking material and a casing around a central portion thereof, said casing being substantially impervious to moisture, wherein said wicking material is exposed at either end of said casing; and a holder capable of positioning securely at least one of said wick elements so that said wick element is both immersed within said reservoir and extends upward into said elevated growing medium, thereby fixing the position of said wick element with respect to said liquid surface level with members which both hold said casing and allow movement of said wick element casing within said holder to new secure positions with respect to the liquid nutrient level.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a water storage device usable with a wick device inserted into and extending from the bottom surface of a planting pot with means for orderly contiguous alignment of a plurality of said water storage devices and a means for elevation to prevent moisture damage to a setting surface such as fine furniture comprising a base having a housing and comprising an interior which forms a reservoir in said base for sealingly holding liquid nutrients; a top comprising an opening therein which communicates said reservoir with the exterior of said base; a compliant member or gasket for supporting the planting pot therein having an exterior shape similar to the said base top opening; an interior shelf for supporting the bottom of said compliant member; an alignment mechanism on the bottom of said water storage device for aligning a plurality of said water storage devices contiguously on a horizontal plane; a plurality of elevated support members on the bottom of said device of substantially equal length to support perpendicularly the bottom of said water storage device to space apart the moisture containing base from the setting surface; a drainage portal in the side of said base to allow said water storage device to be used outdoors during seasons of adequate rainfall to maintain only a predetermined water level and with an optional closure for indoor use which is substantially clear and functions as a fill level sight; and a liquid nutrient addition portal substantially above the water level for adding liquid nutrients directly into the reservoir.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, a method of conducting nutrient cations sourced in relatively aqueous insoluble solids into the soil of a containerized houseplant comprising the steps of providing a wick element comprising wicking material which both conducts moisture and is chemically bonded as a cation exchanger, which provides negatively charged sites on said wicking material, said wick element further comprising a casing which surrounds the wicking material and exposes the wicking material at either end of said casing; placing the wick element in the soil along with a plant in a planting container such that both wicking material and casing protrude from the bottom of said planting container; providing an aqueous reservoir to which the relatively water insoluble nutrients have been added and to which water has been added creating a liquid surface level; and positioning said planting container with said protruding wick elements above said aqueous reservoir with said nutrients such that the wick elements are immersed below said liquid surface level in the reservoir; whereby dissociation of the nutrients in the reservoir produce cations which are attracted to the negative sites on the exposed wicking material and the wicking action of the moisture driving up the wick exchanges the cations upward into the soil encouraging more dissociation of the nutrient solid.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a wick element for conducting nutrient cations from an aqueous reservoir to an elevated growing medium of a containerized houseplant comprising wicking material which both conducts moisture and is chemically bonded as a cation exchanger, adding sites with a negative charge in the wicking material, and a casing surrounding said wicking material with said wicking material exposed on both ends of said casement.
Still other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description of embodiments constructed in accordance therewith, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.